Lower back MRI cost in Maryland
In Maryland, 14 hospitals publish a cash price for MRI of the lower back, no contrast dye: from $236.08 to $3,045.73, with a median of $495.14. The lowest price is at MedStar St. Mary's Hospital (Leonardtown). The highest price is 12.9× the lowest.
- The median here, $495.14, is 74% below the US median of $1,902.72.
- That is 2.0× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($243.77).
- Maryland has the lowest median of 51 states with at least 5 hospitals pricing this code.
- 2 of 14 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Why Maryland prices look low: Maryland is the only state where a commission (the HSCRC) sets hospital rates for every payer, so its hospitals publish prices far below the rest of the country. A separate physician fee may still apply.
Maryland law (Health-General §19-214.1) requires hospitals to give free medically necessary care to patients with family income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level and to cut the bill by 75% up to 250% and 60% up to 300%. With medical debt above 25% of family income in a year, discounts reach up to 500%. Immigration status does not count. Ask the hospital for its financial assistance application. Other states' laws.
Outpatient cash prices, one line per hospital — its lowest listed price for code 72148. Prices for both sides of the body and inpatient prices are not mixed in. Collected Oct 29, 2026. See them on a map
Lowest$236.08MedStar St. Mary's Hospital
Median$495.14half of hospitals charge less
Highest$3,045.73in Maryland
Lowest saves$259.06vs the median
Hospitals in Maryland, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | File date |
|---|---|---|---|
| MedStar St. Mary's Hospital lowest Leonardtown · Lexington Park, MD MRI SPINE LUMBAR WO CONTRAST | $236.08 | $240.90 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| UPMC Western Maryland Cumberland · Cumberland, MD-WV MRI SPINE, LUMBAR W/O CONTRAST | $247.20 | $412.00 | Mar 2, 2026 source file |
| MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center Baltimore · Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD MRI SPINE LUMBAR WO CONTRAST | $398.91 | $407.05 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Frederick Health Hospital Frederick · Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV MRI LUMBAR SPINE WO CONT | $400.77 | $408.95 | Mar 17, 2025 source file |
| Mercy Medical Center Baltimore · Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD HC MRI, LUMBAR SPINE | $403.89 | $412.13 | Jan 1, 2026 source file |
| MedStar Southern Hospital Center Clinton · Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV MRI SPINE LUMBAR WO CONTRAST | $440.38 | $449.37 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| TidalHealth Peninsula Salisbury · Salisbury, MD HC MRI-L-SPINE | $469.03 | $478.60 | Mar 19, 2026 source file |
| MedStar Harbor Hospital Baltimore · Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD MRI SPINE LUMBAR WO CONTRAST | $521.24 | $531.88 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Atlantic General Hospital Berlin · Ocean Pines, MD Magnetic resonance (eg, proton) imaging, spinal canal and contents, lumbar; without contrast material | $542.67 | $542.67 | Apr 10, 2026 source file |
| Greater Baltimore Medical Center Towson · Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD HC MRI-Lumbar Spine | $544.04 | $555.14 | Jul 1, 2026 source file |
| MedStar Union Memorial Hospital Baltimore · Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD BC-MRI SPINE LUMBAR WO CONT | $667.77 | $681.40 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital Baltimore · Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD BC-MRI SPINE LUMBAR WO CONT | $685.28 | $699.27 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| MedStar Montgomery Medical Center Olney · Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV BC-MRI SPINE LUMBAR WO CONT | $1,435.32 | $1,464.61 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Union Hospital of Cecil County Elkton · Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MRI,SPINAL,LUMBAR,WO CONTRAST GLR | $3,045.73 | $3,045.73 | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
Hospital The hospital that published the price, its city and the line exactly as written in its price file.
Cash price The hospital's own price for a patient paying without insurance (“discounted cash” in its price file). Hospitals must publish it under federal law, 45 CFR 180.50. Call to confirm it before booking. More
List price The hospital's full chargemaster price (“gross charge”) before any discount. Almost nobody pays it; the gap to the cash price shows what the self-pay discount is worth. More
File date When the hospital last updated its price file, as the file says itself. A dash means the file gives no date.
At or below Medicare This cash price is at or below what Medicare pays a hospital for the same service, which is unusually low. It is what the hospital's file says; confirm it and what it includes before booking. More
No cash discount This line's cash price equals the hospital's full list price. Many hospitals still reduce bills for uninsured patients: ask the billing office for its self-pay discount in writing. More
By metro area
Each metro page compares every listing, including prices for both sides of the body.
| Metro area | Hospitals | Lowest | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | 6 | $398.91 | $532.64 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 3 | $400.77 | $440.38 |
| Cumberland, MD-WV | 1 | $247.20 | $247.20 |
| Lexington Park, MD | 1 | $236.08 | $236.08 |
| Ocean Pines, MD | 1 | $542.67 | $542.67 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 1 | $3,045.73 | $3,045.73 |
| Salisbury, MD | 1 | $469.03 | $469.03 |
Market A metro area (as the Census Bureau defines it) or, outside metro areas, a town. Each links to every hospital price there.
Hospitals How many hospitals publish a cash price for this code here. Each hospital counts once, at its lowest outpatient cash price.
Lowest The lowest cash price among those hospitals.
Median The middle cash price: half of the hospitals charge less, half charge more. One price per hospital. More
What lower back MRI is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Lower back MRI explained.
MRI of the lower back, no contrast dye in other states
- Alabama$1,596.76
- Alaska$3,437.78
- Arizona$1,752.45
- Arkansas$891.78
- California$3,060.69
- Colorado$2,164.66
- Connecticut$1,437.00
- Delaware$2,452.48
- District of Columbia$2,013.00, 3 hospitals
- Florida$3,699.50
- Georgia$1,713.00
- Hawaii$1,531.60
- Idaho$1,557.45
- Illinois$2,881.44
- Indiana$1,016.72
- Iowa$2,371.13
- Kansas$1,240.13
- Kentucky$1,725.03
- Louisiana$1,032.62
- Maine$1,419.25
- Massachusetts$1,805.25
- Michigan$1,806.88
- Minnesota$2,036.24
- Mississippi$1,302.62
- Missouri$1,861.45
- Montana$1,753.00
- Nebraska$3,216.00
- Nevada$2,308.53
- New Hampshire$2,455.25
- New Jersey$591.91
- New Mexico$2,038.78
- New York$1,307.22
- North Carolina$2,227.59
- North Dakota$1,934.90
- Ohio$1,666.80
- Oklahoma$1,264.00
- Oregon$1,870.75
- Pennsylvania$1,790.00
- Puerto Rico$725.00
- Rhode Island$2,250.00
- South Carolina$2,193.60
- South Dakota$3,269.60
- Tennessee$984.54
- Texas$2,190.02
- Utah$4,273.11
- Vermont$3,576.90
- Virginia$2,000.00
- Washington$2,100.33
- West Virginia$1,350.75
- Wisconsin$2,210.00
- Wyoming$2,274.75
Median cash price across the state's hospitals.